The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
For more than one hundred years, vehicle registration plates (also known as license plates; tags; and number plates) have been affixed to vehicles in order to identify the registration of the vehicle. Such plates are typically constructed of painted metal or other durable material and produced en masse before entering service on a registered vehicle, necessitating constant stockpiling and distribution of thousands of physical license plates. Furthermore, many jurisdictions require reissuance of license plates (also known as replating) on a regular basis, thereby complicating vehicle registration plate-related logistics. Replating increases the number of vehicle registration plates which must be manufactured, stockpiled and distributed, and contributes to environmental waste. Finally, a majority of states in the United States require both front and rear license plates for automobiles, effectively doubling the number of plates which must be produced, replaced, and eventually disposed.
A typical vehicle registration plate displays at least some of the following information: registration number; expiration date; state of issue; and county of issue. In many cases, publicly owned/operated vehicles are required to have specialized license plates which may display one or more of the following: a license plate number; expiration date; state of issue; county of issue; issuing authority (e.g., government branch, government agency, and the like); the appropriate government agency insignia; and the like. At the federal level, license plates for government vehicles are manufactured by UNICOR, also known as the Federal Prison Industries, a wholly-owned United States government corporation. UNICOR uses “penal labor” with the goal of helping inmates learn transferable vocational skills that they can utilize upon the completion of theft prison sentences in what is known as the Post Release Employment Project (PREP). In many U.S. states, license plates are also made by state prison inmates under the same rationale.
Living in today's technological era, however, not only are the metal license plates outdated, but so too is the method of achieving the primary goal of PREP. The traditional metal license plate, in a government agency setting, is subject to various limitations and inefficiencies, including: current policies which prohibit license plates from being transferred between vehicles; national security issues that can arise if a license plate is stolen; and unnecessary security exposure regarding license plate disposal through UNICOR. Further, the goal of providing “transferable vocational skills” which an inmate can “utilize upon the completion of their prison sentence” is not being met by learning how to manufacture metal license plates. Of the 133 million Americans in the US workforce, less than 12 million were employed in manufacturing jobs. Attempting to facilitate the reentry of inmates into the workforce by providing them with a skill that is applicable to less than 10% of available jobs falls short of the aim of programs like PREP and fails to realize the technologically-driven realities of the 21st century American economy. Vocational training in the areas of electronics, for example, would be more beneficial to many inmates upon their release.
Electronics have developed drastically since license plates were initially implemented over 100 years ago, but the government's license plate system has not advanced at the same rate as technology in general. For example, many of today's vehicles have sophisticated on-board computer systems to facilitate real-time vehicle health diagnostics. Such systems may include navigation units and have touchscreens and other input devices to control various vehicle subsystems. Despite the widespread dissemination and deep integration of electronics into modern vehicles, there have been no similar computer-based advances in vehicle registration plates.
Given the foregoing, systems, methods, and computer program products are needed for displaying license plate information and regulating the use of a vehicle through the use of an electronic display license plate system.
Additionally, systems, methods, and computer program products are needed which facilitate production of license plate information display devices while reducing waste, lessening logistical burdens, and, where inmates produce such devices, providing useful vocational skills for inmates.